Yesterday, after finding out an injured Wanderlei Silva would no longer fight Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 (dude has broken ribs and a knee that requires surgery- guess we’ll give him a pass…this time), our childish temper tantrum soon subsided with news that Chris Leben would be Silva’s replacement. After all, Leben’s a damn entertaining fighter who also likes to slug it out, so, really things could be worse right?
Well, if a report from Fighters Only Magazine is accurate, Akiyama apparently doesn’t agree with our above sentiment. Citing a story from a South Korean blog called Daum.net, it appears as though the judo star isn’t exactly thrilled about facing Leben (to put it lightly). Why? Here’s a snippet.
“If there is to be a replacement I was hoping for a big name,” he added, “I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment, my motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen. .. In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue.”
Now, we struggle mightily with English much less Korean, so well have to take Fighters Only Magazine’s word / translation on this. Knowing Dana White, like we all think we know him, what do you think his response will be to Akiyama’s “worst case” scenario. How much of an understatement is ‘not good?’